This invention relates in general to data communication, and more particularly to a network management system.
Computer networks have grown increasingly complex as businesses have come to rely on large numbers of computers coupled to the networks to conduct business. The computer networks are responsible for transporting information between the computers used in the business as well as allowing users to connect to their work from remote locations.
To manage all of the information and equipment that is supported by the network requires a significant time investment. Network management systems have been developed to assist in managing computer networks. Network management systems often need to support large networks and be capable of scaling up from managing a few devices on a network to a few thousand or more devices on a network while maintaining consistent performance and reliability. Typically, network management systems are tested for scaleability, performance, and reliability both before and after deployment.
Prior to deployment, testing of a network management system is generally performed in a lab environment. One problem with this approach is the prohibitive costs associated with maintaining a large network environment of network devices for testing the capabilities of the network management systems. Alternately, a network management system may be tested using a more manageable number of devices in the network environment. A drawback to this approach is that traditional network management systems are configured to ignore multiple alarm signals of a particular type form a single source. Therefore, traditional network management systems are limited to testing only those devices physically present in the laboratory network environment. As a result, network management systems may be tested using fewer network devices than are present in the network environments in which the network management systems are expected to perform. In this respect, traditional network management systems may not be properly tested for scaleability, performance, and reliability.
In accordance with the present invention, the disadvantages and problems associated with prior network management systems have been substantially reduced or eliminated.
In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, a network management system includes a network management server coupled to a communication network and a simulation device coupled to the communication network. The simulation device has a physical network address and is operable to communicate an alarm signal to the network management server. The alarm signal is associated with a virtual network address that is distinct from the physical network address.
Another embodiment of the present invention is a method for communicating alarm signals that includes storing a physical network address associated with a simulation device and storing a plurality of virtual network addresses. The method further includes communicating an alarm signal to a network management server. The alarm signal is associated with a virtual network address that is distinct from the physical network address.
Technical advantages of the present invention include a system that simulates the operation of multiple network devices using a single physical network device for testing of a network management server. In particular, whereas prior testing systems require maintaining many network devices for testing network management servers in a large network environment, the present invention includes a simulation device that uses virtual network addresses to simulate the operation of multiple network devices in the network environment. The present invention uses virtual network addresses to simulate multiple network devices in two respects. First, a simulation device uses virtual network addresses to simulate the generation of alarm signals from multiple network devices in the network environment. Second, the simulation device uses virtual network addresses to simulate responses to polling requests issued by the network management server. In this respect, the present invention decreases the monetary and time burdens of purchasing and maintaining many network devices in a network environment while still accurately testing the scaleability, performance, and reliability of network management servers.